Ingredients
For Idli Batter:
1 cup white quinoa
½ cup urad dal
2 tbsp chana dal (split chickpeas)
10-12 fenugreek seeds (methi dana)
Add at the Time of Making Idli:
Soak the Lentils & Quinoa Rinse
the lentils thoroughly, and discard any stones or debris. Soak lentils
and fenugreek seeds in 2 cups of water for 4 hours. Rinse the quinoa thoroughly underwater for a few minutes. Soak the quinoa in 2 cups of water for 4 hours.
Grind the Lentils & Quinoa Grind
the idli batter, using water as needed, into a smooth consistency
batter. First, grind lentils using just enough water to grind. Transfer
the lentils batter into a bowl. Now,
add quinoa to the blender and using water as needed grind it into a
slightly coarse batter. Transfer the quinoa batter along with lentils
batter. Mix lentils and quinoa batter thoroughly. Note: The consistency of this batter is similar to a pancake batter.
Ferment the Quinoa Idli batter
Method 1: Traditional
Place the batter on a countertop or in a nice warm place, away from any vent or direct sunlight.
If
the weather is nice and warm, the batter ferments in no time. In
summer, it only takes a few hours for the batter to ferment. In winter
it may take up to a day.
Method 2: Using an Instant Pot
Add the batter directly to the inner pot or in the pot (pot-in-pot method).
Turn
ON the yogurt (less) setting, and set it to 8 hours. Cover the inner
pot with a glass lid or any plate that fits on it and let it ferment.
Method 3: Oven
Warm the oven to the lowest temperature setting and turn OFF the oven. Place the batter inside the oven to ferment.
Alternatively, if you have an oven light, you can leave the light on and the batter ferments beautifully.